By “Soota said, ‘O you whose wealth is Tapas (Rishi Shaunaka), then when the night had passed away and the Sun had risen in the morning, the two sisters – Kadru and Vinata, having laid a bet about slavery, went quickly and with impatience to view the horse Uchchaihshravas from a near point. On their way they saw the Ocean, that vessel of waters, vast and deep, rolling and tremendously roaring, full of fishes large enough to swallow the whale, and abounding with huge makaras and creatures of various forms by thousands, and rendered inaccessible by the presence of other terrible, monster-shaped, dark, and fierce aquatic animals, abounding with tortoises and crocodiles, the mine of all kinds of gems, the home of Varuna, the excellent and beautiful residence of the Naagaas, the lord of all rivers, the abode of the subterranean fire (Paataala Jwalana in Sanskrit), the friend (or asylum) of the Asuras, the terror of all creatures, the grand reservoir of water, and ever unchangeable.
“It (Ocean) is holy, beneficial to Devas, and is the great source of Amrita; without limits, unthinkable, sacred, and highly wonderful. It is dark, terrible with the sound of aquatic creatures, tremendously roaring, and full of deep whirl-pools. It (Ocean) is an object of terror to all creatures. Moved by the winds blowing from its shores and heaving high, agitated and disturbed, it seems to dance everywhere with uplifted hands represented by its surges.
“Full of swelling mass (of water) caused by the waxing and waning of the moon, the parent of Vaasudeva’s (Sri Krishna’s) great conch (Shanka in Sanskrit) called Paanchajanya, the great mine of gems, its waters were formerly disturbed in consequence of the agitation caused within them by the Lord Govinda of immeasurable skills, when He had assumed the form of a wild boar (Varaha Avatar) for raising the (submerged) Earth. Its (Ocean’s) bottom, lower than Patala loka, the vow observing Dwija Rishi Atri could not understand after (toiling for) a hundred years (Dwija means twice-born, while the first birth is natural, the second birth occurs upon the realisation of the Supreme Soul).
“It (Ocean) becomes the bed of the lotus-naveled (Lord) Vishnu when at the termination of every Yuga that deity of immeasurable power enjoys yoga-nidra, the deep sleep under the spell of spiritual meditation. It (Ocean) is the refuge of Mainaaka fearful of falling Vajra, and the retreat of the Asuras overcome in fierce encounters. It offers water as sacrificial butter to the blazing fire issuing from the mouth of Vadava. It is impenetrable and without limits, vast and immeasurable, and the lord of rivers.
“They (Kadru and Vinata) saw that to it rushed mighty rivers by thousands with proud walk, like lustful competitors, each eager for meeting it, blocking the others. They (Kadru and Vinata) saw that it (Ocean) was always full, and always dancing in its waves. They saw that it was deep and abounding with fierce whales and makaras. It resounded constantly with the terrible sounds of aquatic creatures. They saw that it was vast, and wide as the expanse of space, impenetrable, limitless, and the grand reservoir of water.’”
SRIMAD MAHABHARATA – AADI PARVA – AASTIKA (UPA) PARVA – PART 21 – OCEAN: KING OF RIVERS
